9 People Who Died Playing Video Games
Autumn Spragg Any video game player worth their salt knows the feeling. Just ONE more level, ONE more achievement, ONE last item before meal time, sleep, or (shudder) some actual human interaction. Four hours later, and you’re still staring blankly at the screen, mouth ajar, hands balled up into an arthritic mass of digits, and any thoughts you once had about tending to your basic human needs are long since forgotten or pushed off indefinitely as you plug along for that never ending quest for virtual fulfillment. It’s easy to forget that our own bodies need as much tending to as our farms or guilds, heck, maybe even more so. Here’s a list of people who died neglecting their real-life health bars for their video game equivalents.
Be sure to check out Ranker's other lists or circulatory system diseases, brain disorders and biopharmaceutical companies.
Be sure to check out Ranker's other lists or circulatory system diseases, brain disorders and biopharmaceutical companies.
- 6
Radio Station Contest to Hold Urine Turns Deadly
Perhaps the most preventable and unnecessary death on this list goes to Jennifer Strange, who died playing a mere console.
The 28-year-old wife and mother of three from Sacramento, California willingly participated in a local radio station’s giveaway promotion entitled "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" in which she drank over two gallons of water and refused to urinate in hopes of obtaining a Nintendo Wii.
This severe lapse of judgment ended in death by water intoxication, and, to my knowledge, no prizes of any kind.
Jennifer’s death is sobering proof that we need not even be gaming to be enticed to the point of death by winning and notoriety.
Also, if you have to eat, go to the bathroom or have a heart condition, for the love of God, go outside. Or at least order a pizza. - 7
Starcraft Addict Plays for 50 Hours
South Korean man Lee Seung Seop was an industrial boiler repair man and college graduate before a gripping Starcraft addiction turned deadly in 2005.
Devoting all of his time to the game, he became malnourished and sleep deprived, costing him his job and long-time relationship with his girlfriend, also an avid gamer.
Some men would turn to binge drinking or binge coke-doing (that's what you call it, right?). Lee Seung Seop turned to binge-gaming.
Lee sought refuge from the unfavorable responsibilities of real life in a smoky, poorly lit internet café, and began a 50-hour gaming binge that would ultimately kill him.
Lee had reportedly told his friends and relatives he was about to stop playing and return home only moments before he closed his eyes and fell off his chair, being pronounced dead at a near-by hospital shortly thereafter. The final cause of death was heart failure caused by exhaustion and dehydration. - 8
Wii Fit Does Opposite of What It's Meant To Do
In sharp contrast to the prior listees, and most people in America, Tim Eves, enthusiastic and upstanding citizen, died because he was attempting to better himself physically.
While jogging to the Fit program on the Wii, the 25-year-old scout leader simply slumped to the floor and was pronounced dead before he even made it to the hospital. Which, in my opinion, is just a bad attitude. I diagnose those paramedics with a bad attitude.
While it has been suggested that Tim may have fallen victim to a very rare heart disorder, the fact remains that Tim Eves was a "healthy and fit" individual that had no prior health problems and made his living as a laborer. His Wii Fit age was probably in the early 20's too. I tried measuring mine once. I'm apparently middle-aged.
Its very possible that enthralled with the video game itself, he may have ignored or not even been aware of any signs that something may have been wrong. A serious heart problem could have been accidentally taken as a "good hurt".
One can only hope that in while sprinting in place, he beat a record of some kind before collapsing. Like those first guys. Those guys are bosses. - 9
Gamer Girl Dies Playing XBox
Fact: Video game deaths aren’t limited to just males in their 20s and 30s.
Anna-Lee Kehoe, a thirteen year old girl, was casually talking, hanging out and playing with her Xbox 360 before muttering, "Mom, I can’t breathe." She suffered a heart attack so severe that she was left brain dead and on life-support.
As Sega did with the Dreamcast, Anna-Lee’s parents decided to pull the plug on the machine, making her one of the youngest video game deaths in history.
Anna-Lee was an asthmatic, and doctors have speculated that an attack the day before may have attributed to her heart attack. However, just like in all the other aforementioned instances, it is unclear whether distractions arising from her game session caused her to neglect any symptoms that she may have been experiencing prior to her attack.
What is also unclear is if she managed to secure the "Golden Idol" Bullet Storm achievement before her passing. The world may never know.
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9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 2/06/2013 8:30 AM
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 1/27/2013 2:30 PM
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 8/15/2011 1:38 AM
f**king nerd.
Stop trying so hard on the internet, you can only achieve so much :(
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 8/08/2011 5:10 AM
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 8/08/2011 2:28 AM
entry #1 - So, since it was 2 people, the whole article was misnamed, right? That would be 9 people total.
entry #2 - You totally took the wrong route with this entry. The guy was a FPS player and should be dead anyway, for destroying the industry. For that reason alone, MS deserves a medal for making Halo. And as a follow-up, I put forth a challenge to all FPS players to please try to break the 12-hour session it took before dying. So, FPS'ers, please start playing now and let's see how long you can go before you also die.
Please?
entry #3 - You referenced something from entry 4. So, sure if someone started reading backwards at 8, it made sense, but since the list is presented in the reverse order than that, sounds silly referencing #4 before people would read it.
entry #5 - I know you said that there were no prizes given that you know of, but man, what a crappy radio station to not give one to them, in light of what happened On the other hand, her kids are probably thankful as hell they didn't get one, now. The pain of remembering how they got the system along with how bad the system and it's games are, that is a double-combination that would suck to deal with.
I guess the preference would be to have their mom around, but what would you prefer? "She might be dead, but at least we got something good out of it!" or "She might be dead and we're stuck with this piece of crap system?!".
Shoot. Thought there were more in the list I wanted to comment on. Oh well. Some other comments:
""As Sega did with the Dreamcast, Anna-Lee’s parents decided to pull the plug on the machine"
That's f**king tasteless."
I agree totally, Duck. pulling the plug on the Dreamcast was insanely tasteless of Sega to do.
And since I know you actually meant the comment about the girl was tasteless, I'll say to both Duck and El Jefe, that no, it wasn't. Grow up. Can't stand when people think there is any joke that is too "tasteless" to tell, or if it's "too soon." The ONLY time a comment is "too soon" is if you cut them off before they finish the statement. Everything is fair game from the first second an event happens and you find out about it.
Grow Up.
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 8/07/2011 11:36 PM
That's f**king tasteless.
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 8/07/2011 3:50 PM
Really? You made that joke?
9 People Who Died Playing Video Games at 8/04/2011 9:03 PM
Slam dunk my bean lubed-up butt with a giraffe dong fellas.